[MEI-L] @trans.diat and @trans.semi

[Michael Scott Cuthbert]

> 

> From: Craig Sapp



> On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 11:10 AM, Michael Scott Cuthbert
<cuthbert at mit.edu> wrote:

> Even the B-flat clarinet often will choose to be an A# clarinet when the
orchestra is in 5, 6, or 7 sharps. 

> This wouldn't be a problem, since the transposition is related to how you
want to see it on the page, not to the name of the instrument. B-flat
transposition would be 1 diatonic 2 chromatic (C->B; c->b->b-flat), A-sharp
transposition would be 2 diatonic 2 chromatic (C->B->A; c->b->a#).
Similarly for D-flat/C# piccolo.



The issue is that you want to be able to change the transposition for
different passages, and I don't think that changing the Instrument tag is
the best approach.

 

 

> And in pieces for band, learning ensembles, etc., individual notes will be
written enharmonically.  So that a concert-pitch passage, C, D, D#, E#, F#
might be written as D, E, F, G, Ab so as to avoid needing using double
sharps or augmented intervals.  Notating the score in written pitch is the
better way to avoid this problem.  

> 
This is a good point, but can also be handled by a constant transposition
system.  The enharmonic spelling would be stored in the sounding-pitch
spellings, rather than changed afterwards once the written notes are
calculated.  In other words the written pitches
    D E F G Ab
are represented in concert pitch as:
    C D Eb F Gb
and not as
    C D D# E# F#

What you would like to have is the clarinet's notes displaying as "C D  D#
E# F#" when the score is viewed in concert pitch (so it matches the rest of
the ensemble) and "D E F G Ab" when viewed transposed; the alternate
representation ("C D Eb F Gb") represents a passage that doesn't appear in
either a concert-pitch score or on the performers' parts. It may be too
difficult to encode such things but they're frequently done instinctively by
skilled copyists.

Best, Myke


-=+Craig

> 

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